The African Roots of Fermentation

Today a photo from a fermentation workshop I held a few years ago popped up on my FaceBook timeline. 

It made me a little sentimental. Teaching people new ideas and skills has been one of the most rewarding things about my career, a career which is taking a slight pause right now (thanks, COVID-19 pandemic). But this pause have given me time to reflect on a few things, and one of them is the inequities of the culinary world. The recent demonstrations about police brutality and the systemic racism that causes it are shining a light into some of the other areas of life that might need a little attention. One of those is the often-overlooked but very amazing and healthy foods that come from the cradle of civilization and the birthplace of humanity, Africa.

Step 1. Chop, add water and salt or sugar (depending)

Step 2. Let it sit for a few days or longer.

Step 3. Enjoy!

Fermentation helps break down elements in food that can be hard to digest, improves the nutrient profile and deepens the flavor of food. It also replenishes good bacteria in the digestive tract and boosts brain function and so many other processes in the body.

All cultures in the world ferment or fermented, before refrigerators made us lazy. In most places, around 30% of food was fermented. Due to the fact that human cultures originated in Africa, the way food was preserved also migrated with the precursor populations of the rest of the world. According to fermentation guru and award-winning author Sandor Katz, 60-70% of traditional Sudanese food is fermented. Of all places on earth, the place with the most insanely awesome fermentation culture is Sudan. One of my life goals is to go to south Sudan and learn more about the amazing cuisine, culture and people. Although Sudan has the richest tradition of delicious fermented foods, the people of west Africa also had a preference for deep flavors and spices, often using ginger, pepper, mustard and other spices introduced by Arab spice traders.

Let’s get a little bit more serious now.

During the transatlantic human trafficking and enslavement of Africans, so much of their ancestral food ways were lost to them, due to having to prepare the foods of their European captors to suit their uber-vanilla tastes (spicy food was considered crass due to the French being considered the classiest by the rest of colonizer culture and having a preference for balanced flavors over spiciness).  

Even though Africans had their culture and heritage taken from them, a taste for spicy and complex flavors led to new discoveries.

Hot sauce is a new world invention (peppers are a new world plant), first recorded in Jamaica in the 1700s, where indigenous Jamaican and African slaves were observed using it as medicine, mixing it in with the patient’s food.

Although the invention of hot sauce is often credited to a white slave owner named Edward McIlhenny, the likelihood of a rich white guy nearly a century later cooking seems far-fetched, given what we know about plantations. The whole idea on plantations was for black and indigenous people to do all the work and white people to get the credit. 

The contributions of Africa to the culinary world are substantial, and tell the collective story of humanity, no matter your ethnic heritage. It’s important that we know the history of our food, so that we can understand the world we live in and work to make it better. 

P.S.

Here’s a recipe I’ve been wanting to try. - https://www.africanbites.com/african-pepper-sauce/

Here’s a great article about the history of American hot sauce. - https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/food/how-did-hot-sauce-get-in-so-many-african-americans-bags-anyway/2016/04/21/63bebca0-07d2-11e6-b283-e79d81c63c1b_story.html

Here’s a link to Sandor Katz’s fermentation website. - https://www.wildfermentation.com

Apple-Ginger Shrub

"You had me at the words, 'drinking vinegar,'" I sad to my client, who had just told me about shrubs, the delicious combination of (usually) fruit, sugar and vinegar. this was about a month ago.
Fast-forward to COVID-19, social distancing, getting furloughed from my non-essential job and safer-at-home directives from local officials. A friend of mine was posting about the cocktails they made with shrub and I was like, "I know what I'm doing with my life now!" I remembered the fermented apples I had made back in December, just sitting in my fridge. Next, I read a few recipes.

They all seemed to pretty much say the same thing but in a slightly different order. Who knows if I'm even doing this right, but whatever, it tastes good. They all pretty much said you need equal parts water, sugar and vinegar, and the amount of fruit varied from about the same volume as one of the other parts to about twice the volume. It's my opinion that the make channels their inner Italian grandmother and just do what their intuition tells them to do, and to taste test often throughout the process.

Here's what I did:

• 4 apples
• 2-3 Tbsp ginger paste (you can also use ginger juice)
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup sugar
• a little extra honey I found in the cabinet and needed to use (~1 Tbsp.)
• 1 cup raw apple cider vinegar

1. Cut the apples up into 1/4 inch chunks. We need lots of surface area. 
2. Toss them in sugar and throw them into a mason jar
3. Wait 2-5 days. you'll notice the juices being pulled out of the apples and collecting in the jar. We want that to happen.
4. Drain off the syrup out of the mason jar and keep it. this is the tasty fruit infusion for your shrub! You can keep the apple chunks in the refrigerator and make something out of them later. Sometimes I'll just heat up some of the fermented apples and top them with coconut milk and cinnamon for a dessert.
5. Mix the ginger paste into the syrup
6. Mix the syrup with the vinegar and taste test it. If it tastes too sweet, add more vinegar. If it's too sour, add more sugar, or better yet use erythritol or monk fruit to keep the sugar content lower.
7. Bottle it up and keep it in the refrigerator. I have no idea how long to tell you it keeps for, but if you make a tasty cocktail with it on the reg, you'll use it before it goes bad! Honestly, it should keep pretty long, seeing that the acidity is high because of the vinegar.

How to drink shrubs

Not that I'm an expert on shrubs, but here's what I have learned. 

• Cocktails
• Mocktails
• Drizzle over ice cream
• Sip them

Easy Mocktail Recipe

• 2-3 Tbsp shrubs (Sometimes I mix 2 kinds, today was apple-ginger shrub with fennel shrub)
• 6-10 oz water (sparkling or still)
• Ice
• Garnish

Stuck-at-home workout

Hope your quarantine is going well. Mine is going well, thanks for asking! I've been getting a ton of house projects done, and keeping myself busy cooking, writing and making videos for my YouTube channel. So far, I just have a few videos up, but it's kind of fun to shoot and edit them. IT helps get my creative juices flowing. For example, I made a camera tripod out of a an upright vacuum cleaner and 2 bungee cords to keep my phone at the right angle for shooting my yoga video.

Most people have only minimal equipment for an at-home workout, so this is a workout that is bodyweight, with the option too add weight in the form of canned goods, bottles of cleaner or detergent, and the odd mop or broom handle.

The idea is to keep workouts simple and quick enough for most people to make time for. Scale it up with progressions for more advanced exercisers, or keep it the same if you like where you're at right now.

Workout #1

Warm-up 

• 1 min. knee touches
• stand tall keeping your abs tight
• raise one leg up and touch both hands to the thigh, knee, or shin
• you can add a squeeze to the shin touch to make it a little more of a stretch
• 1 min walking jacks
• stand tall with arms at sides
• step leg to the side and raise both arms overhead
• step back to starting position
• repeat on other side
• 1 min hip circles
• stand with feet hip width apart, hands on the hips
• draw a circle in one direction with your hips
• at the halfway point, switch directions
• 1 min knee circles
• feet together, bend hips and knees slightly
• draw a circle in one direction with your knees
• at the halfway point, switch directions
• 1 min shoulder shrugs
• stand tall with shoulders down the back
• draw shoulders up, down and back
• imagine ou are drawing circles with your shoulders

Foundational Movements

• 40 sec squats
• air squat - raise your arms to shoulder height as you sit your hips back and bend the knees
• ear tickler squat - fingertips behind the ear as you squat
• overhead squats - hold a broom or mop handle overhead with as you squat
• 20 sec recovery
• 40 sec bent reverse fly
• hinge at the hips, chest out
• arms in front of you, arms straight, thumbs out
• add canned goods here if you want more resistance
• bring arms out to the sides, framing the face
• 20 sec recovery
• 40 sec 1-leg RDL
• hinge at the hip 1 leg out behind, touch the knee
• increase range of motion to progress
• add weight to progress
• 20 sec recovery
• 40 sec plank to down dog
• Start in a plank position, hands under shoulders, feet or knees on the floor, belly tight
• raise hips up and back, make the shape of a capital A
• return to plank position
• add a push-up to progress

Stretches

• Be sure to stretch all major muscle groups, but especially these:
• chest
• hip flexor
• hamstring

Workout #2

Warm-up 

• 1 min. gate swing
• stand tall keeping your abs tight
• raise one knee up and bring it out to the side
• reverse what you just did
• repeat and then switch halfway through
• 1 min hip abduction
• stand tall with arms at sides, balancing on left foot
• raise right leg out to the side, leading with the heel
• lower the leg and return to single-leg balance
• keep going and halfway through, repeat on other side
• 1 min hip extension
• balancing on left foot, lean forward a little bit and brace your abs
• raise right leg behind you, leading with the heel
• lower the leg and return to single-leg balance
• keep going and halfway through, repeat on other side
• 1 min arm circles
• circle the arms one direction
• halfway through, switch
• 1 min  arm swings
• stand tall with shoulders down the back
• open arms wide and squeeze shoulder blades together
• cross the arms over each other in front of you and see if you can bring your fingers to the back of your opposite arm
• open back up and repeat
• speed up if you need more

Foundational Movements

• 40 sec good morning
• good morning - first two fingers on the hip crease, push your hips behind you, let your knees bend a little
• ear tickler good morning - fingertips behind the ear as you hinge
• split stance - take 1 leg forward and 1 leg back, keeping the knees (mostly) straight
• 20 sec recovery
• 40 sec Lunges
• increase range of motion to progress
• add weight to progress
• add a lunge matrix to progress (reverse lunge to side lunge, etc.)
• add plyo to progress
• 20 sec recovery
• 40 sec rotational plank
• Start in a plank position, hands under shoulders, feet or knees on the floor, belly tight
• rotate body to the side, raise arm up, look down at the base hand
• return to starting position
• repeat on the other side
• 20 sec recovery
• 40 sec bent cobra
• stand tall and hinge at the hips, pushing them behind you
• keep your chest out and shoulders back
• arms hang in front of you, elbows straight, palms facing toward you
• bring your arms back behind you, rotating externally, squeeze shoulder blades together
• return arms and repeat

Stretches

• Be sure to stretch all major muscle groups, but especially these:
• lats
• quads
• groin stretch

Elderberry syrup

Here’s a quick recipe.

1/3 cup dried elderberry
3/4 cup water
1/3 cup raw honey
1/2 tsp clove
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger

Simmer for an hour. Cool, then strain the liquid. Mix honey into the liquid. Throw away the pulp. You’re done.

Elderberry tonic

1-2 Tbsp elderberry syrup
12 oz sparkling water

Mix together. Add ice if you like.

Healthy Aging

Here are some good concepts to keep in mind as we get older. Having just been mistaken for a 20-something (by a 20-something) the other day, I feel well qualified to educate on healthy aging. Also, as a nutrition coach and trainer, it's literally what I do for a living every day.

There are 3 types of age:

• Chronological age
• Since time is linear, this doesn't change and there is nothing we can do about it.
• this is independent of variables. "It is what it is," as the old people say.
• Physiological age
• Change in physiological processes
• Dependent on lifestyle and behavioral choices
• Relative Age
• Extent to which you are experiencing physiological changes relative to other people the same age.

You can be an 80-year-old in a 20-year old's body. You could also look and feel years younger than your chronological age. It all depends on a few things.

Attitude

Keeping a positive attitude, continuing to learn and grow as you get older will also keep you younger for longer. Forgiveness, acceptance and self-love are crucial to keeping a positive attitude. Consider a gratitude practice to keep yourself in check. You don't want to be yelling at kids to get off your lawn one day, do ya?

Exercise

Moving your body frequently and well is key to mobility and vitality. Step 1 is to get moving. Step 2 is to make sure you have high-quality movement in your life, using proper form when lifting, running, stretching, etc. If you don't know something, get answers (and possibly training sessions) from a fitness professional!

Recovery

Healthy aging is not about living like a glass doll rolled in bubble wrap. It's about balance. For every hard workout or night of hard partying, do a recovery activity like getting a massage, sauna, cryotherapy, breathing exercises and other activities to turn down the stress response in the body. Acupuncture, regular chiropractic care, reiki, yoga and Pilates are some great places to start.

Sometimes recovery can be taking a walk with loved ones, spending time with friends, reading, or laughing at a funny movie. Just take time to unplug.

Put Effort In

Making sure you don't look homeless goes a long way toward helping you feel younger. When you feel good about yourself, you are less likely to be a grumpy old fart. It's just logic. You don't have to be a fashion icon, you just have to show yourself enough respect to look nice, whatever your style - from preppy to punk rock, as long as you try to look dope, you're going to feel dope. And feeling dope is feeling young.

Want to find out what your composite age is? The best way to know how is to do a consultation with me. I'll ask you a bunch of questions and then tell you how old or young I think you are. It's fun! Hit me up ...

MTFHR Genetic Mutation and Methylation

If you’re like most of my clients, you might ask - what the f is methylation and why should I care? So glad you asked :-P

Methylation is the transfer of four atoms - one carbon atom and three hydrogen atoms (CH3) – from one substance to another. In this case, think about vitamins being handed off in the body so they can do their job.

Methylation allows various systems to work in the body, including the neurological, cardiovascular and detoxification systems. Basically, it helps each system in your body do its best to keep you healthy, lean and feeling amazeballs all the time.

When methylation isn’t working properly, it’s hard for you to feel good, live your best life and get the results you want. 

Think about it kind of like a light switch in your body that, when you turn it on, allows your body to work the way it’s supposed to. But when it’s off, we can really have some problems.

During methylation, a universal ingredient called SAMe (S-adenosylmethionine) donates its methyl group to the process. The system that makes SAMe in the body requires an essential B-vitamin, 5-MTFH, in order to produce SAMe. Over 60% of the US population has a genetic mutation that makes it hard to make enough 5-MTFH, which makes it hard to make SAMe, which in turn makes it hard to methylate.

I should add that SAMe also helps with liver detoxification and its abundance (or lack of it) can determine whether you feel like a million bucks or a wet sack of excrement. Taking methylated vitamins can help free up SAMe for other things in the body.
Taking supplemental SAMe can be a really beneficial thing to do. One of my dogs takes it to support her liver health, and I have clients, friends and family who take it as well. It really makes a difference, and most people report feeling a little bit calmer and less anxious when they are taking their SAMe.

Folic Acid must be converted to to 5-MTFH for the body to use it, and the genetic mutation we just talked about makes it almost impossible to convert. So 60% of people essentailly can't turn folic acid into folate, or use it at all. Those synthetic vitamins end up just hanging out in our bodies, throwing off lab results and masking nutrient deficiencies. because nutrigenomics is such a new study, most medical and nutrition practitioners won’t know why this is happening or how to address it. 

Synthetic vitamins don’t address this problem either, because the profitability is so high in the nutrition supplement business. So manufacturers continue to make a subpar product for consumers, who continue to buy it. Another result of this is clinical studies about the efficacy of vitamin use, whose data is thrown off by not controlling for synthetics vs. non-synthetics. Basically, if you supplement with a fake vitamin, the results will show no benefit to using vitamins.

Here’s another way to think about it. Imagine that you shrink-wrapped your food and ate it whole, without chewing. Nothing would be absorbed, but your body might think it’s not hungry while you are quite literally starving. that’s what it’s like.

Synthetic vitamins are not just a waste of money, but potentially dangerous to our long-term health. Vitamin companies like to use synthetics, because they cost less to produce and the profit margins are higher on the end product. In the US, supplements aren't regulated, which sucks, but that's the reality.

so buyer, beware. In the meantime, do everything you can possibly do to support your body's ability to methylate.

Here's a place to start:

• Look for the words "methyl" or "folate" under the listing for folic acid on your multivitamins. If you see it listed as folic acid, and without the work methyl, steer clear.
• Be aware of the difference between cyancobalamin (synthetic B-12) and methylcobalamin (natural B-12). It shoudl be listed on the bottle or packaging. If it's not labeled as methylcobalamin, it's probably synthetic. 
• Get a genetic test. I got mine from https://www.23andme.com/. Once you get the results back, you can run them through a database like https://promethease.com/ to get some extra insight. 
• Consider supplemental SAMe. You can find it a few different places now. Reach out if you'd like some help choosing a brand. 
• When choosing a multivitamin, Try to get an AM/PM formulation in a gel capsule, if you need help, please reach out to me.

Logging Food - A Primer

People who log their food in some way, shape or form are more likely to be successful with their eating than those who don’t. This has been proven over and over through the years and it completely makes sense if you really think about it. Just the thought of having to write down that I ate a cookie is enough to make me only eat one instead of three or four! Fairly often, I have clients log their food so we can get an idea of whether they are eating too much or too little for their goals. It really helps when they have done a resting metabolic assessment so I don't have to guess!

There are a few ways to do log your food, and it can be as simple or as detailed as you like. The important thing is that you have a method that works for you. Here are a few ideas:

• Use a fitness tracker app like My Fitness Pal or Lose It.
• Write down what you eat in a notebook every day.
• Use a habit tracker app on your phone. You might not be tracking what you eat specifically, but maybe you’re tracking whether or not you got a certain number of servings of vegetables each day. 
• Hang a calendar on the wall and track daily habits on it. Don’t use your calendar for anything other than habit tracking.
• You can make a spreadsheet to track your habits. You can print it out and use it analog, or you can keep it on the computer and be fully digital.
• Take photos of the food you eat. You can keep them for personal accountability, but it’s usually helpful to have someone holding you accountable. This can be as big as putting it out on social media or as private as sharing with a friend.  Enter yet, hire a nutrition coach to help keep you on track.

Now let’s talk about how to actually make those methods work, because it’s one thing for me to just site here and tell you to do those things, and another thing to actually put them into practice. You can choose from these options, or if you think of something that might work even better for you, go ahead and use it.

• pre-plan and pre-log what you’ll have. This works really well if you have to eat out. It will help you stick to your plan, because you don’t want to have to re-log everything. 
• You can log food immediately after a meal. If we’ve already implemented mindful eating and have a good practice, taking an extra minute or two to record food intake should be no problem.
• Take your food journal with you everywhere. You can get a small memo notebook just about anywhere. If your journal is bigger, you can keep it in a bag or backpack. This is also where apps for your phone come in handy.

Try not to think of logging your food as a chore, but instead as a powerful tool that will help you stay committed and consistent!

Bonus: you can also log your exercise. People who log their exercise also increase their chances of success. When you record exercise, you can be as general or specific as you’d like. It could be “30 min cardio, 30 min weights,” or “2 sets of 15 goblet squats w/ a 25# dumbbell, 2 sets of 15 push-ups and 2 sets of 15 inverted rows.” You decide how detailed you’d like to make it.

Hope this helps. Happy logging! ;-)